Local Governments Boost Efforts to End Child Labor

Representatives of local governments and key stakeholders from Sudurpashchim and Karnali provinces have strengthened their understanding of and commitment to eliminating child labour through a series of review and interaction programmes organized by the Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment (MoYLE), with support from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The programmes focused on implementation of Nepal's National Master Plan on Child Labour Elimination and the Child Labour Free Local Level Declaration Programme, providing local governments with an opportunity to review progress, exchange experiences and identify practical actions to accelerate efforts to eliminate child labour.

The Government of Nepal has adopted a range of legal and policy measures to address child labour, including the National Master Plan on Child Labour Elimination (2018-2028), which aims to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and progressively eliminate all forms of child labour in the country. Under Nepal's federal governance structure, local governments have significant responsibilities in areas directly related to the prevention and elimination of child labour, including child protection, education, social protection, community development and local economic development. Strengthening their capacity is therefore critical to accelerating progress towards the elimination of child labour.

The MoYLE is implementing area-based initiatives through the Child Labour Free Local Level Declaration Programme, commonly referred to as the Child Labour Free Zone (CLFZ) approach. As part of this effort, the Ministry provides conditional grants to local governments to support the declaration process. To date, more than 64 local governments in Sudurpashchim and Karnali provinces have received such grants, while only one local government has been declared child labour-free.

To strengthen the capacity and commitment of local governments to accelerate the CLFZ Declaration Programme, three interaction events were organized in Dhangadhi, Dadeldhura and Surkhet on 19, 21 and 24 August respectively.

The programmes aimed to strengthen participants' understanding of national policies and legal frameworks on child labour; strengthen the capacity of local governments to identify, prevent and address child labour; facilitate the exchange of experiences and good practices among local governments engaged in the CLFZ declaration process; and strengthen coordination among federal, provincial and local governments and development partners to consolidate and accelerate the CLFZ approach.

Representatives of participating local governments subsequently shared their progress, experiences and challenges in preventing and eliminating child labour. The exchanges provided an opportunity for local governments at different stages of the CLFZ Declaration process to learn from one another.

Participants identified the seasonal migration of children to India as an important child protection concern requiring greater attention in efforts to eliminate child labour in the two provinces. Discussions also highlighted the need to review relevant procedures to facilitate effective implementation and to further strengthen the capacity of local government officials.

Across the three events, approximately 320 representatives from 82 local governments - 120 from the Sudurpaschim Province and 80 from Karnali Province participated. Participants included Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Chief Administrative Officers, Child Welfare Officers, Employment Coordinators, representatives of the National Child Rights Council and Labour Offices, provincial government officials, representatives of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, UNICEF, media and other concerned stakeholders.

The exchange of good practices, implementation experiences and challenges among local governments helped clarify the concept and requirements of child labour-free local levels, relevant legislation and practical approaches that local governments can adopt. The discussions also strengthened participants' confidence in identifying concrete actions that local governments can take to prevent and eliminate child labour.

Several participating local governments expressed their commitment to intensify efforts to meet the requirements for declaration as child labour-free local levels within the next year. Participants also made recommendations to strengthen implementation of existing child labour laws, policies and procedures.

The programmes reinforced the importance of translating Nepal's national commitments to eliminate child labour into coordinated and sustained action at the local level, where measures for prevention, identification, protection and rehabilitation can directly improve the lives of children, families and communities.